NCTC order affects Centre-state relation: Naidu

Bhubaneswar: Seeking withdrawal of the
Centre`s recent order on National Counter Terrorism Centre
(NCTC), Telugu Desham Party president Chandrababu Naidu on Friday
cautioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that it (order)
affected Centre-state relationship.

Naidu, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, also
suggested the Prime Minister to initiate debate with political
parties and state governments along with a debate in the
Parliament as the issue affected Centre-state relations.

"The order undoubtedly, smacks of authoritarianism and
is against the spirit of co-operative federalism enunciated in
the Constitution," Naidu said in the letter which was released
here by Orissa CM`s Office.

Stating that the TDP had always stood for co-operative
federalism, Naidu asked the prime minister to direct the
Ministry of Home Affairs to rescind the order. "It is issued
violating the federal spirit of the Constitution," he said.

The director of NCTC, specified as Designated
Authority under Section 2(e) of Unlawful Activities
(prevention) Act, 1967 and his offers can arrest and conduct
search without prior consultation with the concerned state
governments, he pointed out.

"They (NCTC officers) can have access to information,
documents, reports from all the civil authorities directly
from the functionaries of the state government. It is quite
inexplicable that such an important order, having ramification
over the Centre-state relations, has been issued without
consulting the state governments and political parties," Naidu
wrote in the letter.